A Norse polytheist walking with Sigyn

Tag Archives: Hela

[I’m currently having size issues with inserting a photograph, so I may edit this post later or share pictures separately. I don’t think anyone wants a picture to take up the whole screen right now.]

I was notified that the item was shipped on 9.6.16 and it arrived that Friday (9.9.16). I’ve previously ordered items while on campus, so having a few days instead of a week or so was amazing on the shipping. No damage of any kind while shipping and a sample of tea was included (Relaxed Mind from Yogi).

I’ve previously ordered existing items from Beth, but this time I commissioned an item. My Christian dead wanted a rosary on the ancestral shrine (they’re vocally Catholic), and my bio dead were pushing for some interaction with St. Brigid and St. Patrick. I’m not sure why, but I wasn’t able to find existing rosaries that were connected to the P/people involved. I know Beth can forge that connection (it can break through my headblindness), I was able to involve both saints (Hela also tagged along), and I had say in the design and materials (the comfortable fit of simplicity). Beth was polite, prompt about replying, and was a pleasure to work with in picking said materials and design.

There’s been a noticeable time lapse in receiving the item and posting this review (written on 10.30.16, scheduled for 11.2.16). It’s been a combination of letting my P/people settle into the rosary on the ancestral shrine and not interacting with it while in a depressive episode. Since my order arrived, there’s been some changes in Beth’s Etsy presence (including a second shop, The Candle Invasion), but I’d still recommend her shop.

Final Decision: O – Outstanding

Would I buy from this shop again? While I currently don’t have plans to do so in the recent future (money and irl matters), I would consider buying another item from this shop.

Image from my transaction page for buying the Raido of the brass chain rune pendants mentioned here. I’m honestly not sure if I can link to the transaction page for the full description. An example that hasn’t been bought as of writing this is here.

Rune meaning from description

Raido is the rune of riding, journeying, travel, right action, right relationship, and common sense. Magickally, it can be used to motivate, to urge forward motion both within oneself and it situations. It is often used as a travel protection charm both mundanely and for journeying between the worlds.

I’ve talked about not being able to do things with runes unless Someone indicates that I need to use a rune / bindrune when talking about Odin [if you want to go see]. So, I was a bit surprised when I found out that Someone was wanting me to get one of Beth’s rune pendants. I didn’t have to rush into buying it, so the request took some time to simmer and stuff.

I ended up finding out that Hela was the One sending this request (with support from Mordgud). I’ve also touched on not traveling between the Worlds, which holds true for the most part. However, I wasn’t originally taking into account that journeying isn’t 100% limited to purposeful, intentional astral travel. From my post talking about seasonal depression:

This [suicidal ideation] is what I mean when I use the religiously based metaphor of walking the Hel-road. It may not have been astral travel / journeying / what have you in the traditional sense, and it wasn’t a matter of purposefully wanting go with this route, but I can’t write this off completely as a means of having still done this. I may not have physically gone through with the plan and did the whole resuscitation of the body route as a sign of being turned away, but on some soul / spirit level, I was turned away from entering Helheim.

In this context, I need to work on preventing travel between the Worlds (Midgard and Helheim, specifically). So, Raido actually wound up fitting, and it’s one barrier to help keep the lines between the Realms clear and distinct. (As opposed to blurring the lines to facilitate travel.) It took getting to a certain shadow work point before I got the go-ahead on ordering the pendant, but I finally have it.

The package shipped a fair bit faster than I thought it would, so it actually arrived here at my residence hall before I could move in (and pick it up). Given that it’s the start of the semester, I highly doubt any one was surprised that a package arrived on the Monday or so before move in, though. Good marks on shipping.

No damage to the pendant upon opening. (Because of bubble wrap – a definite perk.) A nice thank you message for ordering, and a little free sample of something. I believe it’s a sample of oil – Inanna: pure essential oils of jasmine, amber, and blood orange (listing here). I’ve never tried perfume oil, but for all I know it won’t be half bad. A cute organza bag that somehow makes the purchase feel a bit fancier.

By and large, what I put in my intro post still stands. I primarily honor my dead (bio and trans) and try to not be a dick to others as what I do for Hela. However, there have been updates and changes, particularly after this past winter when I “walked the Hel-road” as I described in the update for Baldur (I thought I’d have a post on the seasonal depression up already, but my Deities wanted the intros and updates first; I find the idea of walking the Hel-road to be a workable metaphor for just how serious things got).

I mean there’s nothing quite like Hela sending Mordgud and then dropping by Herself to get the message across that no, things are not okay, and you need to pay attention to how bad things have gotten. While I previously didn’t really apply the label ‘devotional relationship’ to how I interacted with Hela, I’ve wound up with a minor devotional relationship due to needing to make sure I don’t walk the Hel-road again. I’m not sure how else to describe it than coming back with the smell of Helheim, but walking the Hel-road once makes it easier to walk it again.

I have correspondences for Hela in terms of the Dark moon and Full moon because a devotional activity is reblogging and posting in alignment with those correspondences on those lunar phases. I must admit that I’m not sure how it helps to keep the boundary between Midgard and Helheim clear, but that’s the answer I’ve gotten from Hela [divination can wind with confusing answers sometimes] as to why I need to do this.

In addition to this, She was the One to bring up the idea of wearing something to help keep me in my Realm. I have my eye on a Raido pendant, which Hela and Mordgud have approved of, because this rune has been used to protect travel between the Worlds. Hela was also the One to suggest wearing a Mjolnir (Thor’s Hammer) and consciously accepting being under His Protection. Some spend a great deal of time blurring the boundaries between the Worlds, but my goal is to keep the boundary clear and keeping me firmly in this World.

[I’m sharing how I’ve known and interacted with Everyone, starting with the Aesir. The Vanir will be next, then the Rokkr, and then the category where I put those Who don’t seem to pick just one category.]

I pay my respects to Hela, but there have been times in the past when She’s refused to use the label ‘devotional relationship’ for my interaction with Her. The basic premise that I’ve used to describe what She wants me to do (in the past):

Don’t be a dick; live a good life; etc. I may or may not be sent to Her for Assignments at some future point.

Other than that, I honor my ancestors for Her. No one is required to do so in order to interact with Deities, Powers, Spirits, etc., and not having an ancestor practice is okay. However, I don’t have a horrible relationship with most of them, so I decided to give it a try (and Hela and Jormundgand wanted me to specifically honor a particular group of dead, even though I have no biological relationship to them).

I also do a monthly prayer set, on the Dark Moon (what I consider the first night of the Dark Moon) with Hela Prayer Beads by Raven Kaldera (from Her northernpaganism.org shrine). I’ve been meaning to share a picture of Her prayer beads forever, so I may one day do so. I also have a tumblr tag for Her (Hela), though I don’t have a physical shrine for Her (Her prayer beads are on my ancestral shrine).